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Plants? Cool!

A few years ago, we were traveling in spring in a small, southern European city. Away from the crowds, we chose a quieter side street parallel to the main street. We kept that up for exactly one block.

The heat hit us, and the noise was deafening. Why? Because all the air conditioners of the buildings on the main street discharge their hot air there. That cooling creates extra heat and noise - exactly what you don't want in a city. Air conditioning seems like a solution, but actually adds to the problem.

How we can cool the city without air conditioning

At N360, we look for smart and approachable ways to make our cities more livable. That's why we launched Plants? Cool!, a project through which we demonstrate that plants are a much better way to cool urban spaces. For this in 2023, we were selected as a laureate of Renolab-ID, a collaboration between RENOLUTION and BRUSSELS LEEFMILIEU.

Not everyone has room for a tree, and we can't always wait until a tree is big enough to provide shade. But facade greenery? That can be done quickly and everywhere.

With Plants? Cool! we measure the temperature in different places in the city, with and without greenery, to prove the effect. The first plants were planted this spring, and the testing can begin. We look forward to seeing how greenery can really cool down the city!
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